Never Had a Dream Come True
by Blatantly Anonymous
Summary: AU. One misunderstanding, one regret you hold with yourself forever. A tale about how three little words can change your life. IchiRuki


Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

Summary: AU. One misunderstanding, one regret you hold with yourself forever. A tale about how three little words can change your life. IchiRuki

Author's Note: Ichigo and Rukia are a bit OOC. They are both 25 and live in Karakura town.

* * *

**Never Had a Dream Come True**

Sunday - 6:45 p.m.

_SCREECH_

A small, compact car makes a sharp right turn onto a local neighborhood street. The driver fails to notice everything around him other than the fact that there are two police cruisers chasing after his car. They're hot on his tail. "No, no, no! If I stop now, I'll definitely go to jail again." The driver grips his steering wheel tightly. "Yeah, there's no going back now…."

With that said, he slams on the accelerator. The car engine roars loudly and the driver makes his getaway.

6:43 p.m.

"What a hectic day," muses Ichigo as he walks down a sidewalk not too far from his house, "I finish working my twelve hour shift and I come home to _that_. All I did was come home a little later than usual, for a very good reason I might add, and Rukia gets all worked up." Kicking rocks that come along his way, Ichigo continues his walk. "She didn't even let me explain…" Slouching a little, he recalls what happened not too long ago:

_Five minutes earlier_

_Ichigo fishes for the house keys in his pocket as he approaches his apartment. Exhausted from working at the Karakura hospital, all Ichigo wanted to do for the rest of the day was relax and have a peaceful evening with the love of his life, Rukia Kuchiki. They've been together since they were 23, and started living with each other a year ago when they both turned 25. Ichigo was waiting for the right moment to find a way to propose to her, and just recently got the courage to do so. He planned to pop the question the upcoming Friday and got the wedding rings resized the day before._

_Fumbling with his keys, Ichigo finally finds the correct key and jams it into the keyhole. Ichigo unlocks the door and steps inside. "Oi Rukia, I'm ho-"_

"_Just exactly where have you been Ichigo," questions an aggravated Rukia, "you're home later than usual."_

"_I just went out to pick something up babe. Nothing to worry about" _

"_Really? This message says so otherwise," Rukia harshly replies as she replays a message left on the answering machine._

"_You have one new message. Message one."  
"Hey Ichigo!" shouts a high pitched, girly voice, "did you get home yet? Don't forget, we planned for dinner at 6 today! I'll wait for you at La Flor. See you soon!"_

Click

"_So who's the chick? Did you meet her right after you left work today?"_

"_You see, what had happened was-"_

"_Ichigo, what do you want from me? Is my love for you not enough? Do I mean so little to you? Tell me Ichigo, TELL ME!"_

"Shit. How am I supposed to tell her that I went to go get our matching wedding rings? This is definitely not the way I wanted her to find out_." Ichigo mused in his head. He raises a hand to scratch his head. "R-R-Rukia, calm down. I can explain!"_

"_No Ichigo, if you think you can toy with my heart like that then you are certainly wrong." Rukia grips her fist, and lets it fly toward Ichigo's stomach. "Get out," bottled up emotions begin to escape as she pushes Ichigo out the door, "GET OUT YOU UNFAITHFUL BASTARD! I HATE YOU!"_

SLAM

"_Rukia? RUKIA!" Ichigo pounds on the door with both fists. "DAMMIT!" He grasps his head in frustration. Taking a deep breath, Ichigo begins to think. "Man, I don't need this right now." Ichigo ponders his current situation as he walks down the stairs and out his apartment building."_

* * *

Present time, 6:43 p.m.

So that's what happened and here he is now walking around snug in his white hoodie, hands casually lodged in his jean pockets. Ichigo sighs and runs a hand through his orange hair. He knows it's tough for Rukia. He used to be known as the town playboy when he was a few years younger. When he and Rukia first started dating, she was still skeptical about him claiming that he wanted to settle down. It seemed unreal to her, but it was true. After many years of searching, Ichigo finally found his soul mate and love of his life. He gave up that title just so he could be with her. "That was a decision that I would never regret."

6:45 p.m.

Halfway around the block, Ichigo hears a very loud noise.

_SCREECH_

Whipping his head up, he sees a car further down the road being pursued by two cop cars. To his left, Ichigo quickly notices a ball roll into the street, and a boy that swiftly chases after it. "FUCK! The guy doesn't even see the car coming! He's going to die if someone doesn't do something!" Ichigo frantically thought.

Without hesitation, Ichigo makes a dash for the boy. The sound of cars honking blazes by his ears as he maneuvers around parked cars and runs into the street.

"KID! WATCH OUT!!"

_SCREEEEECH. CRASH._

The car skids to a halt. Its front window is shattered. Witnesses and neighbors rush to the scene. Ambulance sirens are heard. Everything fades to black…..

_**I know sometimes it's gonna rain,  
But baby can we make up now  
'cause I can't sleep through the pain (can't sleep through the pain)  
Girl I don't want to go to bed, mad at you  
and I don't want you to go to bed, mad at me  
No I don't want to go to bed mad at you  
and I don't want you to go to bed, mad at me (oh no, no, no)**_

* * *

One week later, 8:00 a.m.

_BEEP, BEEP, BEEP_

An alarm sounds off on the nightstand next to Rukia's bed. She groggily presses the snooze button. "Happy Saturday baby," Rukia says groggily as she rubs her eyes, "did you sleep well?" She tries to snuggle closer to the object lying next to her, but realizes that it wasn't her boyfriend like it usually was. Instead, she noticed that she snuggled closer to a pillow, Ichigo's pillow in fact. Rukia's mood saddens. She remembers how their fights usually never lasted more than a day. One of them would crack by the end of the day, coming back to the other to apologize. She knows she screwed up badly this time, because it's too late to do so.

Rukia lies there in bed, spending more time there than she should, reminiscing all of the times she and Ichigo made love on this very bed, and the times they spent whispering sweet nothings to each other directly after. Those were the moments that made her truly happy. She lived and yearned for times like those. His love made her complete. It filled her heart and soul to the very brim. Rukia sighs, "I've spent too much time in bed. It's time for me to go to work." With that said she hastily gets up and prepares to go to work.

12:30 p.m.

Keyboard strokes and the constant ring of phones can be heard. These are the typical sounds that are heard every day at the office. Rukia busily types away on her computer. She works as a secretary for a law firm. Though she doesn't really like her job, it pays well and it's fairly easy work. Typing reports and printing papers is a walk in the park for her. She breezes through each day without breaking a sweat.

In the midst of typing, Rukia glances at her desk clock. "It's 12:30…" A soft smile graces her face. She looks at her cell phone that's placed next to her clock. This is normally the time when Ichigo would call and schedule a lunch date with her. He did this weekly. Every Saturday, like clockwork, he would call in and take her out to some classy restaurant. He said that she needed to live a little, and treat herself more often. Rukia couldn't complain. There she was, every Saturday, eating food and spending time with her lover. What more could she have possibly want?

Rukia's body jolted. She thankfully caught herself zoning out before anyone else did. Rukia quickly goes back to work, but not before taking a quick, longing glimpse at her cell phone. She really missed him.

5:30 p.m.

A gentle breeze brushes Rukia's face as she takes a stroll through the central park. She got off of work not too long ago and wanted to clear her mind. Thoughts invaded her mind as she fails to notice how her body took her here unconsciously. Tired from today's work, Rukia takes a seat on a bench. "This is his favorite bench…." she thought. Every time Ichigo had something on his mind, he would take her to this park and sit at this exact bench. He loved watching people pass by and he would always smile at the sight of children playing. His face would look so serene; Rukia didn't dare interrupt him, afraid that his look would disappear.

Tears slowly ran down Rukia's face. She hid her face behind her hands, afraid that someone she knew would she her in such a fragile state. Minutes passed away as she continued to cry.

_A cold hand reaches out to caress her cheek. A deep but gentle voice whispers out, "I love you."_

Her head snaps straight up. Rukia frantically tries to search for the source of said voice, but her attempt was futile. The usually crowded park was currently barren; she was the only person there. Wiping the stray tears away, Rukia got up to leave. If she stayed any longer, she would be sure to catch a cold. Wearily, Rukia walked along the curvy, stone path that led her back to her apartment.

_Ichigo silently watches Rukia, as she heads back home. He sighs heavily. Clad in a white hoodie and blue jeans, he gets up from the bench and promptly trails after her with his hands jammed in his pockets._

* * *

6:00 p.m.

A little boy and his mother can be seen making their way towards the Karakura cemetery with bouquets of flowers in their hands. They've been coming every other day for the past week. Grateful for what this person has done for them, they felt that said person should be thanked and cherished personally as long as they lived.

"Hello mister!" They boy greets happily. "I've brought these flowers for you again. I hope you like them!" He and his mother place the flowers on the grave.

"My son and I thank you so much for everything you have done. We are forever in your debt. May you eternally rest in peace."

Both mother and son allow silent tears run down their face. After minutes of silence, they decide to finally go home. As they walk hand in hand towards their car, the little boy takes one last glance at the tombstone and silently reads to himself:

_Ichigo Kurosaki  
1984-2009  
Beloved son, brother, husband, and town hero._

FIN.

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**A/N: Listen to these two songs if you want to feel exactly how Rukia feels at this moment. It fits perfectly into this story. They're both very good songs, so check it out if you have the time! And don't forget to review!  
**

**Never Had a Dream Come True by S Club 7  
So Cold by Stevie Hoang**

**(P.S. The lyrics in the song are from the song Mad by Ne-Yo. This fic is actually based on the music video. It's one of my favorite R&B songs!****)**

**- _Blatantly Anonymous_**


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